This is how I feel about Akiko too! I will miss her terribly when she retires. I really like her better than any of the other current ladies and hope she is on the podium at the Olympics!

Thanks so much for sharing the video, Christinaskater! Akiko will always be one of my favourite figure skaters. Her technical limitations aside, she is one of the very few true artists out there. Some of her performances make me cry (and I rarely cry at the movies). Her musicality is stunning (I play music and dance, so hopefully I know something about musicality). And from what little I know about her as a person, she has the maturity, poise, and self-awareness that perhaps only someone a little older than the average competitive skater who has experienced major setbacks in life can have. I hope she knows that she has fans around the world who love her performances and skate her very best at Sochi. Go Akiko!